Can You Lose Weight While On Birth Control?

A question that crosses the minds of women considering contraception methods is whether or not you can lose weight while on birth control. For the most part, 95% of the birth control pills on the market contain high amounts of estrogen that can lead to fat storage. The worst of all fat-storing birth control pills are the ones that last for months, especially the brands that last for up to six months. These are the type of birth control pills that will lead to the most weight gain.

There have been numerous studies conducted on whether or not you can lose weight while on birth control. Since no body is the same, different reactions to the wide-range of available birth control methods is to be expected. The only way to see if your birth control causes you to lose or gain weight is to stop the pill for about three months and track the changes. During this test, a different method of contraception can be used. Birth control pills with the least amount of estrogen are less likely to cause weight gain, but are just as unlikely to cause one to lose weight. An example of a low-estrogen birth control pill is called Mircette.
But can you lose weight while on birth control? Is there a birth control pill that actually causes you to lose weight? A new product on the market, which mainly aims in keeping women from getting pregnant, also provides an alluring side effect that is catching the attention of many females. There are a large percentage of women who choose not to use birth control pills for fear of gaining weight. There is a new pill on the block, which may actually help you to lose weight while on birth control. The center of this debate is the birth control pill called Yasmin.

The word spread about Yasmin when several newspapers began to report on the pill’s potential to help women lose weight while on birth control. Further investigation revealed that Yasmin didn’t actually lead to weight loss, but caused less water retention and bloating, which causes scales to show an decrease in weight. Yasmin is not a birth control method that should be used just to lose weight. Some women experienced other side effects that make this birth control option a little less desirable. You may not retain as much water, but you could experience painful cramping.

Yasmin has prompted many women to request the “weight loss birth control pill,” but gynecologists agree there is no such thing. Weight loss or weight gain while on birth control is determined on an individual basis. Various studies on Yasmin showed that more women lost an average of 1-2 pounds while on the birth control pill, but a majority of the women also gained the weight back after a year. The only difference in Yasmin is that it does contain an ingredient proving a diuretic effect, which can give the impression that you can lose weight while on birth control.